Welcome to Survival of the Fittest, a RPing board loosely based off of Koshun Takami's Battle Royale, with its own unique plot and spin on the 'deadly game'. We've been around quite a while, and are now in our thirteenth year, so don't worry about us going anywhere any time soon!

If you're a newcomer and interested in joining, then please make sure you check out the rules. You may also want to read the FAQ, introduce yourself and stop by the chat to meet some of our members. If you're still not quite sure where to start, then we have a great New Member's Guide with a lot of useful information about getting going. Don't hesitate to PM a member of staff (they have purple usernames) if you have any questions about SOTF and how to get started!

The beach was in itself was very beautiful to look upon, especially in the nighttime. At least to a girl like Madison Conner, who's only thought during the night was to wander aimlessly. Despite the fact that her leg was feeling rather painful for reasons she wasn't perfectly sure of, she still wanted to walk along the beach anyway. There was just something about the coastline that gave Highland Beach it's name that seemed to hypnotize Madison. She winced slightly, stopping in her tracks for a moment. Oww oww.... Damn it... Why does it still hurt?!! I mean, it was okay last night. I mean... it wasn't completely fine, but it didn't sting this much either. Madison let out a loud, drawn out sigh of complete annoyance, stopping to let her leg rest for a moment. It shifted just a bit, making her murmur softly. Once the pain began to cool down, Madison tried to continue on her way with the pain down to a new low. Assuredly the cramps would come back to bite her and she knew this. Of all the times for me to take a walk, she thought in her mind,did it have to be right now? Damn it... why couldn't I just stay home and rest like Simon suggested I do?

When she really stopped to think about it, walking along the beach might have not been the best idea she could have ever thought of it. She really didn't want to walk along alone, after all the events that transpired the night before. When a damaged leg was entered into the equation, Madison could be the perfect target for anyone thinking of taking a chance. Despite all of the reasons she could come up with to go against this, all of it really hadn't registered into her mind at the time. All she knew was that she was completely alone, without a care in the world (or none that she could think of).

She stopped paying attention to the pain in her leg for just a minute, looking out across the shore. Hmm.... still. You can't get this kind of view anywhere else.

...

I wonder why I find the sea so interesting. Her eyes became transfixed on the ocean, almost like a child at the circus. The ocean seemed to have this effect on her. Luckily no one was around to see her staring out the way she was, else they'd never live it down. Or that's what Madison would have thought. I guess it has something to do with the fact that... I've never seen it before. Well in real life. I've seen it on TV and other places like that but never.... like this. Just how the moon sees to reflect off of it. It's magical. I wish I could just stay here, for all eternity. Just to stand here and watch the ocean move back and forth. It... just seems like such a trivial thing, but when I stand and look at it...

I can't help but feel like I'm under some sort of spell.

Madison stared out along the ocean, slowly letting herself dip down onto the sand with a long, drawn out sigh. Hmmm... maybe this is just one of the things that I'll never understand. I don't think it's possible. The ocean is so big, and I can't do anything else but to stare at it like this. It's so strange... well, maybe it isn't so strange. After all, why do I feel so comfortable just sitting here? The young girl, wiping her eyes softly, finally letting herself notice what time it actually was. Man... it's late... maybe I should get heading back home. Madison sighed, knowing that she couldn't stay out for as long as she did the night before but feeling unable to move. The dark night's sky was acting as some sort of blanket, wrapping all around her to keep her body warm. It's... warm out tonight.

Time is a relative thing, they say it flies when you're having fun, and minutes can seem like hours when you're watching the clock. At this moment, Ethan Ashlock had absolutely no concept of time and no idea what was going on around him. Perhaps an hour prior, he had set off from his home on a run with Apollo, his border collie.

Between then and now, he had made quite a bit of leeway on his run to nowhere and had found himself jogging aimlessly with Apollo down the beach. The sand provided a good bit of resistance against Ethan as he attempted to run down the beach, and he found himself quickly getting winded. The red and white bundle of energy in front of him, though, kept pulling him forward, excited to be going on such a long walk.

"Hey Apollo!" Ethan mused with a laugh, "Slow down, big guy. We're not in a hurry."

Ethan's jog turned into a slow walk, and he let out an exhausted sigh. Apollo came to a halt too, although he kept moving forward, not giving Ethan much time to catch his breath. Ethan ran his hand across his forehead, wiping away some of the sweat that trickled down it before sliding his hand into the pocket of his khaki cargo shorts.

He was surprised that his mother hadn't been blowing up his cell phone from the time he had set out onward. She was a well-meaning woman, but sometimes, she was a bit too overprotective of Ethan. She had told him the story on numerous occasions about how he was her miracle baby and how she'd been blessed with him when the doctors told her there was no chance of her having children.

And that was all well and good, he supposed, but she still needed to refrain from calling his cell phone every five minutes when he was gone. She worried about him way too much. Even if he'd had many friends, he doubted he could've had much of a social life at all without her checking in on him every few minutes, if not outright hiring a chaperone or babysitter or something to attend to him. He was eighteen and all, but he still wouldn't put it past her.

He couldn't help but smile a bit as he thought about it. He supposed it was all part of his mother's charm that she was almost smothering in nature. It was sort of funny how she and his father wound up together. Ethan often thought his father was completely incapable of showing affection toward anybody. It wasn't that his father wasn't a caring man, but any time he and Ethan tried to have a guy talk, his father acted like he felt quite awkward.

He laughed quietly as he thought of his father turning red and rubbing the back of his neck uncontrollably.

His line of vision, which had been nothing but sand and shoreline before, was suddenly obstructed by another object. Ethan cocked his head to the side curiously and squinted to try to identify the object sitting near the edge of the water.

Much to his surprise, it wasn't something, but rather, someone. It wasn't like it was unusual to see people on the beach, but it was kind of surprising to see a girl sitting all by herself on the beach at this time of night. She looked like she wanted to be left alone, and Ethan didn't want to intrude. But, Apollo did.

The good-natured dog was watching the girl too, and let out a loud, hearty bark in greeting before trying to force his way over to her.

Madison was transfixed by the ocean. Her eyes began to zone in. Everything other than what her eyes were witnessing had faded to black, her head starting to spin around, dizzy for reasons unknown. She scratched the back of her head. Wow... you know... All of a sudden I feel topsy-turvy. Maybe staring out at the ocean for long periods at a time isn't exactly the greatest idea anyone's ever had. She shut her eyes for a moment, the pain in her head starting to decrease little by little.

Maybe she was focusing so much about the pain in her own head that she didn't realize a boy and his dog walking by from a distance away. This could also explain why it came as such a big surprise when the border collie yelped.

Her whole body literally leaped off the ground, letting out a huge gasp as her head turned to look at who (or what) could have made such a sound. Madison felt very silly indeed: It was only a dog. What was so frightening about that? Her nerves must've taken alot of damage from the night before. Walking down an empty street without wearing much had that effect on a girl like her. There was just as much chance that someone was going to attack her on the beach as there was in the streets. This logic wasn't exactly the best, but it was perfect for a naive girl such as Madison.

She let out a soft laugh, somewhat from embarrassment but mostly from surprise. Madison was a dog person by heart, although she never really had the chance to get one herself. Her mother was allergic to animals, which made Madison understand if not pity Elana just a bit. The sight of the Border Collie made her smile, slowly extending her hand outwards, her palm facing upwards.

"Aww... such a pretty boy." she told the dog, her smile even more visible on her face.

Madison looked up at the boy for a moment, nearly forgetting that for almost every dog, there had to be an owner. He was... unfamiliar? Was that the word? No. Madison was new around Highland Beach, so everyone was unfamiliar to her. The boy was still very different looking from many of the other kids that she had happened to stumble upon. First of all he wasn't scruffy looking, which wasn't something that usually registered with many of the other boys she knew. That alone was a huge difference.

She looked back down at the dog before she did anything else. "O-Oh!" she answered with new-found pep in her voice. "Don't worry about that... I don't mind at all. I was always a dog person at heart."

Ethan tried to hold in a laugh when the girl jumped sky-high as Apollo barked at her. He wasn't a very intimidating-looking animal, that much was for certain. Even now, he was just standing there with his head cocked sideways, staring idly at the girl sitting on the sand. Ethan was probably staring a bit more than he should've been too, and he hoped she wasn't put off by it. It wasn't like he was sizing her up or anything like that, he wasn't that kind of person.

It was just that Ethan had no idea who the girl was.

He didn't think he had ever seen her at Southridge, but he wasn't sure. Maybe she was from Northside? But... she didn't really look like the type of person that normally went to Northside. He wasn't too sure, but that school seemed a lot more ethnically diverse than Southridge. It almost seemed like white students were the majority over at Northside, and all the ones he had ever met -- though surely not all the students in general -- seemed kind of... thuggy.

Ethan laughed a bit nervously before using his free hand to rub the back of his neck. It was a trait he had inherited from his father -- a little quirk that he always seemed to do when he was nervous or uncomfortable. Usually, when Ethan was around girls, he was rather uncomfortable. It was something he had always hoped that he would grow out of when he got older, but considering he hardly ever talked to any of them except his fellow art students, he hadn't exactly allowed himself to grow out of the awkwardness.

"So, are you from... Northside?" he inquired after a brief pause, "I don't think I've ever seen you around before. But... I don't get out much either."

He had to laugh at himself for that, because it was the complete and honest truth. Ethan was a good boy in every sense of the word. He didn't drink, he didn't party -- the truth was, even if he'd ever had any sort of inkling to, he was far too afraid of the hellfire his dad would reign upon him if he ever found out to actually act on any sort of impulses. He didn't really get out at all, except on occassions like this where he was just taking the dog on a walk. He'd been like that ever since he was a kid, much to his father's dismay.

He'd just never been an overly social person. He was fairly quiet, and his parents could never quite tell if he was a complete doormat or just the kind of person that rolls with the flow, because he never seemed to speak up about anything that might be bothering him. Ethan was a pretty laid back guy, so it wasn't like too much bothered him anyway, and he was the kind of person that never saw any kind of reason to say anything about that stuff and instead just blew it off like it was no big deal.

It came as somewhat of a disappointment to his father, who was very heavily pushing for Ethan to obtain a degree in criminal justice when he attended college next year. Ethan had no desire whatsoever to go down the same path as his father, and his father very adamantly opposed Ethan taking the "starving artist" road that he would most surely travel. They never fought about it though. At least, not out loud. It was more like a constant silent argument that was going on.

He sighed almost inaudibly as he thought about it all. He pushed the thoughts from his mind though, and his attention turned back to the girl he was talking to. Maybe he had seen her around school before, now that he thought about it. He just didn't know. It wasn't like he noticed all that many people around school, except for maybe the people like Trish and Jessa who seemed to command that sort of attention just by their personality alone. He wasn't too sure about this girl, but she seemed kind of... timid? That was the only word he could think of to describe it.

Madison's hand patted the top of Apollo's head softly as her smile grew, her eyes lit up like firecrackers, a rare occurrence especially for a girl like her. After a minute she looked back up at the unfamiliar boy who she could obviously tell was nervous. She held back a laugh as her hand continued to caress the dog. It really took her a very long moment for her mind to register that he had just asked her something and it took her an even longer moment to actually think of an appropriate response. Madison seemed confused over the name Northside, but she didn't dwell on that.

"Northside..." she spoke aloud, random enough to spread the confusion to the boy as well. After a moment to gather her thoughts (as her mind seemed to snap back into place, she shook her head. Her nervous side was starting to rear it's ugly head as soon as she actually realized that there was another person. "Uhhh... if Northside is a high school, then no. I don't go there. I attend Southridge.... not the best of places, but it's alright."

Madison couldn't help but to think that, although her vision at that time of day wasn't crystal clear, the boy she had just met seemed vaguely familiar. From what she could tell... he must have either been from Northside or from Southridge. Other than that she was as clueless as he was. There was something that the two seemed to share in common: nervousness. Oblivious to her was the fact that he was just as shy as she was, although it seemed like he was just like this around girls rather than everyone altogether. At least that's what she could gather. Madison had noticed him staring at her for a period of time, and even though it did raise a mental red flag in her head, she really didn't seem to mind. She was more focused on Apollo to have worried. Her small worries dissolved once he told her that he didn't get out much. Somehow, in Madison's mixed-up mind, the fact that he wasn't much of a socialite made it alright.

"Uhh... do you go there? I mean... you look familiar but all of that could just be my imagination..." Madison hesitated to actually put herself out there any farther than that, but the thought of getting his name didn't seem at all bad. She nervously turned her head away then forced it back over again. "M-My name's Madison. Madison Conner. I-It's nice to meet you..."

To be honest, Ethan was kind of glad that the girl seemed somewhat nervous talking to him as well. With his dad being the district court judge, he got dragged into these little get-togethers with his higher-up friends a lot, and it always made Ethan feel awkward and uncomfortable because most of the girls there were really stuck up, and the few that did try to socialize with him normally wound up just looking at him weird and blowing him off because he could never quite come up with the right words to say to them. Then again, they were girls that had probably had countless social experiences. Most of his dad's friends' kids were all partiers and "popular kids", and none of them seemed to share his same interests. At least this girl was a lot more real than they were, which was a vast improvement.

The girl uttered the name of Highland Beach's other school, and the bewildered look on her face quickly spread to Ethan's as well. She seemed to completely phase out for a moment before snapping back into reality and finally answering his question. So she was from Southridge. He thought it a bit odd that he'd never met her before, but then again, he himself had told her that he didn't get out much -- ergo, he didn't exactly make it a point to socialize with all the other students around school, and he rarely noticed the new students. There had been one or two exceptions, of course, Kallie Majors had been one of those exceptions simply because it was hard not to notice somebody like her. He'd definitely never talked to her though, and probably never would. Something about her put him off way too much. This girl, though, seemed really nice, if not a little bit of a spaz. But, there was nothing wrong with that, he supposed.

After a moment, she returned his question with one of her own, and for some reason, the question made Ethan feel somewhat foolish. He had no idea who she was, and she had probably never seen him around before either. He'd completely neglected the fact that she probably held the same sense of unfamiliarity of him as he had for her. At least he didn't feel quite as guilty for not knowing someone he probably should have now. Most of his days at school were spent couped up in the art room, and some days he was there long after classes had ended. Not only that, but the majority of his classes, sans the required classes he was trying to finish up, were what one would refer to as "slack-off" classes. It wasn't that Ethan was a lazy student. He was actually very smart. He just wanted some extra free time to practice his artwork, and he'd taken a bunch of honors courses and the like when he was a freshman and sophomore. He didn't see the point in taking a whole bunch of hard classes for credits that didn't even matter when he had more than enough to graduate anyway.

"Yeah," he mused with a laugh, "I go to Southridge. Been there since ninth grade. It's... alright, I guess. I'm just ready for it to be over, if you know what I mean. 'Course then, I'll be up a creek without a paddle 'cause I don't have a clue what I'm gonna do when it all ends."

He shook his head and laughed as the fact set in on him once again. He'd dwelled on that fact a lot over the past year, and he really found it quite funny, because he'd never even thought about it up until this far in high school. He knew he wanted to be an artist, a journalist, something of that nature, but... well, he and his father had done the same song and dance about that multiple times, and if Judge Ashlock had his way, that simply wouldn't be happening. The girl finally introduced herself, maybe on an attempt to put some sense of familiarity between them, or maybe because she simply didn't like having a conversation with someone she didn't know. Ethan didn't know, and it didn't really matter. He didn't see any harm in introducing himself.

Madison nodded slightly, her eyes floating down to Apollo again, giving the top of his head a nice scratching. She smiled, looking right back up at Ethan, her hesitation and anxieties holding still for a brief moment. "It's nice to meet you... Ethan." her head tilted slightly, in an almost cute fashion. "Don't worry about what you'll be doing after getting out of Southridge... well, you should worry. I'm just saying that you shouldn't feel bad about not figuring it all out. I wouldn't... have a clue as to what I'll be doing in a year or so..." She went silent once again, as if she was afraid to speak up again.

Madison wasn't what one would call a socialite, although how obvious this detail was depended on personal opinion. She never really had many friends, so much so that she would be so tempted as to throw the title at anyone who was even slightly kind towards have, just to compensate for lack thereof. Most of these people were all connected to her so-called best friend Samantha, so even this wasn't much of an accomplishment. Samantha never saw Madison as as an actual friend and only leeched off answers to homework assignments and tests, using the girl as so much used tissue. Madison was a gullible person and she never really paid any mind to any of this. Never connected the dots that were right in front of her. She never knew. How could she? She was naive.

Now that Samantha had recently taken a deep plunge into the darkness, not only was Madison very upset over the whole ordeal, she also lost her only chance at having a stable social life. She had depended on her friend for bringing people over to her, while she herself knew in the back of her head that making friends was an area that she was no good in. She also struggled at small talk, which was being well displayed right then and there. She was very capable of socializing, but with a stranger such as the one she was conversing with, she was having a little trouble at best.

Well... that wasn't exactly true. When she heard the boy's name, something clicked inside of her head. Her whole body relaxed, as if a huge weight was just lifted off of her shoulders. Ethan Ashlock... That name... it seems familiar for some reason. Where have I heard of it before? Madison heard that name flung around somewhere before, although from where she had no clue. She was tempted to ask him even though she was assuring herself that nothing would come of it. "Your name..." she said, pausing for a moment. "Hmm... I swear I've heard your name somewhere else before, but I couldn't picture where exactly."

Madison's interests seemed to be more with Apollo than Ethan, although the somewhat lanky teenager didn't mind all that much. The truth was, he didn't have all that much to say to the girl sitting on the beach in front of him, and he felt like somewhat of an idiot for not even realizing that she attended the same school that he did in the first place. It wasn't like she was someone he had a class with, or even someone he saw on a regular basis in the hallway. She was just some girl that went to his school.

The truth was, the only reason Ethan had even initiated a conversation with her was because Apollo had startled her. It wasn't that she didn't seem like a nice person, or anything like that, but Ethan was definitely out of his element here. He talked to a handful of girls in his art class and on the journalism team, and that was pretty much it. And with those girls, they weren't so much girls as they were, like, almost co-workers or something. At least, that was how Ethan looked at it, which made it so much less awkward talking to them than her.

She started to talk a little more, reassuring him that she didn't really know what she was going to be doing after high school either. He had gotten that response a lot, unsurprisingly. It was funny how many of Southridge's seniors seemed to have no ambitions outside of high school, whereas a handful of others -- people like Andrea Vanlandingham, for instance -- seemed to have had stuff like that figured out since they were in diapers.

When Madison made a comment about his name being familiar, Ethan simply looked confused for a moment.

"Well..." he pondered, scratching his chin, "My dad's kind of a bigwig around here, he's the district judge, so maybe that's where you've heard Ashlock before... but... if you mean me personally, I dunno. I, uh, write sometimes, for the school newspaper and stuff. So... maybe you've read something of mine or... something?"

((Hope you guys don't mind. I have no idea what else to do with her for the time being, and the topic said open to anyone.))

Highland Beach offered so much to the citizens who lived there. Job opportunities that were fun and interesting, lots of entertainment, and of course the outstanding academic scholastics; but all of that paled in comparison to the greatest aspect of the city: the beach. Clear, sparkling cerulean spread out over soft, soothing grains of sand. It excited the people who cared to gaze upon its splendor, day in and day out. Oddly enough, at night the beach became much less of an excitement and more of a fear. Most of the city's inhabitants spent the latter part of their days inside, dry and safe. That wasn't Kristin Washington's idea of fun at night.

During the day, the brunette could be found at school like most other teenagers, and after that she would go to one of her various extracurricular activities. It was only at night that she truly got any relaxation, and she spent it out on the water. She much preferred the quiet sound of rushing tide and splashing opposed to bustling crowds of children and the middle-aged populus. People were nice and all, but for the Hawaiian American, they were nothing compared to the ocean and its enormity.

The ocean was a powerful source of life, almost an entity in itself. Being near it gave Kristin a feeling of purpose. It empowered her movements, feeding her confidence and optimism. When she was in the salty depths, she didn't have to think about anything at all, just focus on the thrill of becoming one with such an element. That was why she liked to surf. It was exciting, competitive, and even if she fell from her board, she was reunited with the water. Now she was standing atop her bright green board, riding a wave like it was a gallant horse. The waters climbed up and up, with the wetsuit clad girl poised expertly atop it. As it moved toward the shore, the brunette moved her body forward to smooth her landing. Just before her board's tail could hit land, she let her feet touch the water and dig into the sand below. Smiling, the tall girl knelt down to unfasten the corded strap around her ankle.

Ahead of her, she saw figures in the starlit darkness. Standing up, she stopped to shake her hair of excess water, and grabbing her board, began to walk towards the unknown things. If they were dangerous, she would have to defend herself, but it wasn't as though people on the beach at night were that uncommon. After all, it was a public place. Kristin was feeling refreshed after an hour out on the water, and now she felt like talking to someone. Reaching the shapes after a minute or so, the girl recognized faces in the night from her school. She didn't know either of them by name, but from what she could tell, neither was dangerous. The Hawaiian was taller than the girl in front of her, but the boy was exactly her height. With them was a dog, a collie. Smiling brightly, she waved to them each in turn.

"Hey. How are you guys doing tonight," she greeted the pair before turning her attention to the dog, "Awww! You're such a cutie! What's your name?"

Madison always struggled with conversations. It was frustrating enough how she would stutter in the middle of saying something. It was an entirely different thing when she wouldn’t even notice herself doing it sometimes. It was embarrassing, and most people would stare at her like there was something deeply wrong with her. Like she was some kind of mental patient. Madison would walk away from these conversations, completely ashamed of herself. The boy seemed different to her. He seemed nice enough, but from how was he was talking to her and how he was acting, she could gather that he wasn’t the most social of people. He shuddered and paused for very long periods of time, a habit that Madison also suffered from. It appeared as though for how much Madison was nervous, Ethan’s anxiousness was at just as high of a level. Maybe even tenfold what she had. This simple observation seemed to flip an imaginary switch in Madison’s mind, that made all of the tense parts in her body relax. It was a strange feeling, being completely relaxed.

Okay... where have I heard the name Ashlock before? Madison began to ponder. Well... he did mention that he writes for the school newspaper. That's a start I suppose.... oh. Yes. That's right. That's right! I remember now!

"Yeah, I remember you!" Madison bursted out with a newfound courageousness. Her eyes sparkled gently as though her minor accomplishment was actually worth something. "The Art club. That's it. That's where I've seen you're name before!" Then, as if she had nothing resembling a realization, she stopped herself. Her eyes wandered away from the boy, slightly embarrassed. "... Sorry about that... I'm not one-hundred percent sure that you're there. I mean I only just joined the art club so I... could have gotten your name mixed up with someone else's..."

Madison was so worried about the way she jumped to a conclusion only a minute ago, that she didn't realize a Hawaiian girl towering over her. The brunette's apology sounded more like the random mumblings of a mental patient when compared to the other female's voice. Madison didn't even notice that she had asked her something until she directed her attention to Apollo. It came as a slight jolt when measured next to the shock that came from the border collie, but Madison was still surprised. Her attention was drawn away from Ethan yet again, focusing in on the other girl. Madison struggled to reply, which was the case the majority of the times that she conversed with others. She gulped softly.

"Oh!" She forced out, her eyes diverting between Ethan, the new girl and Apollo. "Uhhh... h-his name's Apollo."

Madison might have been talking to him, but Ethan's attention had diverted itself to something in the distance. It wasn't really all that common to see surfers out after nightfall. The waters proved a lot more trecherous during the night than they ever had been during the day, and the lack of people on the beach made it all the more unsafe to surf in the evening. But, there she was, just like clockwork, out on the waves. To be honest, it was probably the reason Ethan had 'subconsciously' decided to walk this direction in the first place. A lopsided smirk crossed his face for just an instant before it immediately disappeared.

Kristin Washington. She was, in a word, beautiful. Not just beautiful, really. She had this sort of exotic look to her that Ethan found simply fascinating. Even he himself wasn't sure if he had developed a crush on the somewhat Amazonian-looking girl or if he had simply grown to appreciate the kind of exotic beauty she held. He had passed by this area after dark on more than one occassion, usually while out walking Apollo, and more often than not, she was out there, riding the waves like she was a professional. The grace and poise that the tall girl carried was almost mesmerizing, and Ethan found her a fascinating subject overall.

Needless to say, he found himself somewhat dumbstruck when she approached them so nonchalantly and began talking. So dumstruck, in fact, that he hadn't heard a word Madison had said to him in the last few moments. When he snapped back from his fantasy world, he felt quite guilty for not having listened to Madison. His face flushed red slightly and he rubbed that all-too-familiar spot on the back of his neck. All Ethan really caught was something about the Art Club. From what could put together from the conversation they'd been having, Madison seemed to think that was where she knew him from, or something.

"Could be..." he mused with a shrug, not quite aware that his response didn't exactly match up with Madison's question.

Madison answered Kristin's question for him, and Ethan was quite glad for it. He had suddenly found himself quite tongue-tied and was trying to recover from it. People like Kristin were the kind of girls who made him truly nervous. She always seemed so nice and outgoing, and Ethan was completely dumbstruck by it. A lot of the so-called popular girls around Southridge -- especially the ones who were very attractive -- were also very stuck up, and very big bitches, for the most part. Of course, there were a handful of exceptions, but that statement rang true for most of those girls. Kristin was one of the exceptions to that rule.

"H-hey Kristin," he mused with an awkward grin.

He had to laugh at himself internally. He wasn't even sure if she knew his name, and he wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if she was completely dumbfounded by the fact that some stranger was talking to her. He assumed that at the very least, she knew him from school, but he didn't really know. His attention turned toward Madison momentarily, then back to Kristin, and finally down to the fuzzy little Romeo he'd just so happened to be taking on a walk. Apollo seemed to be winning with all the girls. Ethan grinned somewhat at the thought before kneeling down to pet the border collie.

The other girl, a fellow brunette, had nervously replied to her question as though she were afraid to say anything at all. For some reason, Kristin often noticed that others found her somewhat intimidating. Despite her lack of attitude, a lot of people avoided her because they almost always stereotyped her as a snob, though it wasn't like the Hawaiian went out of her way to make friends with the entire world. She was quite the busybody, after all. Here and now, though, she was talking to people that she didn't really know anything about except that they went to her school and were fellow seniors.

"Apollo? Huh," she told the other girl with a smile, "That's a good name for a dog. You must like mythology."

The boy, a brownish-blonde, greeted her by name, and the girl wondered if she had formally met him already. She didn't think so, but then again, at Southridge one couldn't be too sure. It was easy to get lost in the sea of meaningless introductions that each classmate she had provided. Maybe he had taken a class with her at some point? Then again, it wouldn't be likely that she remembered. She was far too busy daydreaming when she wasn't doing work during class to pay attention to the other people in the room.

"Hi. I don't believe I know your names, do I," she asked the pair, "Though I know you both go to Southridge. You're seniors, right?"

It was funny, but the surfer thought she saw the boy's cheeks darken in the night, as though he were blushing or something. He suddenly knelt down to pet the canine in the middle of the trio, and Kristin thought she glimpsed him looking at her with admiration in his eyes. He was pretty cute, in an artsy way. The brunette girl was still looking confused. An adorable couple they would make, she thought to herself, as she turned her attention back towards the dog, Apollo. Bending over slightly, she moved her hand towards the bottom of his mouth and scratched his chin. She let out a delighted giggle as the collie's eyes drooped closed and his head tilted towards her hand.

Madison didn’t exactly hold Ethan’s response in a good light. In fact, the way he answered her was enough to annoy her. From the way he spoke, it was as if he was beginning to find her as a nuisance and just pushed everything that she just said to him off to the side, like a pile of trash that he had no need for. She was quite happy that he didn’t seem to notice her rather loud response. This also didn’t mean that she was happy. The smile that was very present on her face still remained, but the urge to yell was starting to enclose her. If Ethan was intentionally acting rude, and if Madison’s self control had not the many years of experience that it did, she wasn’t sure of what she would have done. Her hand slowly fell from Apollo’s head, landing limp on the sand. Visually and mentally, Madison didn’t seem to care one bit.

She was more focused on where Ethan had turned his full attention towards, namely the girl who looked as though she was one of the popular kids. Madison figured this. Unlike Ethan, Madison really had no clue as to who the girl was, and was just using the boy’s reaction as some sort of nonexistent answer. It was strange (she used that phrase a lot). Madison was specifically good with names (Ethan Ashlock, for example) and faces. This wasn’t to say that she knew all the kids by name. After all, she barely knew anyone personally than Simon Wood and… well, Simon Wood. She did remember some people’s names by her own observations, so she was definite. The Amazon girl didn’t seem the least bit familiar, and what’s more the girl had remembered HER. She remembered a quiet girl like Madison Conner. Madison wasn’t sure if she should be flattered to be remembered by someone like Kristen, or embarrassed that she herself couldn’t recall who this other girl was.

For a moment, she began to think of why Ethan was acting strange all of a sudden. Under most circumstances, she would have been able to connect the dots…

… Then again, Madison was quite naïve and didn’t even know that such dots existed, and just assumed it was the fact that a popular kid had taken the time to actually talk to him. After all, the Hawaiian seemed nice enough, having the looks of one of the more popular kids but not the personality of one.

The brunette smiled again, looking over to Apollo for a moment. “Oh! Apollo isn’t my dog…” Madison made a gesture towards Ethan, although trying not to point her finger at him. “It’s his dog. He just likes me a lot better than him.”

Madison giggled softly, but noticing she wasn’t too sure that Ethan would see that last statement as a joke, stopped abruptly. “Uhh… My name’s Madison. Madison Conner.” Her eyes darted away like they always did suddenly during conversations, for no real reason in particular. “… It’s kinda strange. I’m one of the new kids here, so I really haven’t… you know, KNOW a lot of kids…” Wow… You were making so much progress back there, and now you’re slipping up more than you usually do. Just keep calm Madison. Neither of them is going to hurt you. What have you got to worry about so much?

Ethan tried not to show the frown that threatened to form across his lips as Kristin looked at him almost dumbfoundedly and stated that she didn't think she had ever met either of them. Then again, what had he really expected? Why would she know him? He wasn't really anybody special. Sure, he was Judge Ashlock's son, and that was how most people knew him, but high school was different. In high school, people only paid attention to the athletes and the cheerleaders, and he was certainly neither of those.

"Yeah..." he mused with a light laugh, "Apollo. Sun god. Red hair. Somehow, it just kind of all tied itself together."

That was probably unnecessary.

He wondered if Madison's comment should have put him off at all, but being the laid back kind of person he was, he simply shrugged his shoulders and laughed along with her. It was true that Apollo had always seemed to like women. Really, if Ethan had been a more social person he probably could have picked up a lot of women through the use of the border collie. Unfortunately for Ethan, he wasn't that social, and he definitely wasn't that smooth.

"What can I say?" he shrugged, "Apollo here is quite the ladies man."

Madison introduced herself to Kristin and he felt as though he should do the same. After all, he knew her name, and all she seemed to know about him was that he was a senior at Southridge. He supposed that it was okay that she at least knew that much, but it still didn't make him feel very good. He really wanted to tell her that they'd gone to the same junior high together and he was in two of her classes this year, and that he passed her almost every day on the beach. But...

"I'm Ethan... um... I think we've got a few classes together or something. That's how I know you."

Wow Romeo, that came out real smooth.

His attention turned back to Madison momentarily and he gave her an encouraging smile. To be honest, he was somewhat surprised she had spoken to Kristin of her own free will. She seemed so timid and fragile, even moreso than Ethan was. Ethan wasn't a socialite, and his conversation-making skills were almost nil, but he always at least tried to make conversation if someone initiated it. With Madison, she seemed a bit different... like if Apollo hadn't scared her half to death, she'd have never even acknowledged Ethan's presence.

It was so obvious to the Hawaiian that the girl in front of her liked the boy, now introduced as Madison and Ethan respectively. Kristin found it cute. After all, she had no interest whatsoever in dating. Her career was of much more importance right now. There would be time later on in her life for that. If there was one thing that her parent had taught her during her life, it was that successful people bring together a prosperous, happy family and lifestyle. One day, she would have that kind of life and a loving family of her own to take care of; but first, it was definitely most important to keep her focus on her long term goals, and boys did not fit into that. That was just her choice, though. She thought others having relationships was just fine.

"Ha! That's funny. Well, I can see that that's the truth. It seems as though Ethan could pick up quite a few girls with him. Is that what he's for? Good tactic. He's so cute! Yes he is," the tanned girl responded to Madison and Ethan's comments. Joking, she hoped she wasn't embarrassing the poor boy. Both of the two seemed so nervous.

'I hate the way I make people feel uncomfortable...'

"Madison Conner, eh? Now that I've heard it, your name does sound familiar. Hmm. Did you write a poem for Amber Dawkins last year," Kristin questioned the other girl, "'Cause I'm sure I remember her talking about a Madison Conner who was a pretty talented writer who wrote a poem for her about abstinence." It was true. In the Will to Wait club, Amber had read a poem out loud that was so powerful and moving, it brought tears to the surfer girl's eyes. Was this the girl that had such a way with words? She certainly didn't seem to be very good with them now.

"And you... Ethan... Are you sure we've been in classes together? Not that I'd really remember anyway. I pretty much just daydream," she said, casually turning her haunched body towards the boy. Body language said a lot about a person, in Kristin's opinion. Madison was acting very shy, and it was obvious by Ethan's demeanor that being around the two girls was causing him to be nervous. Perhaps he liked her?

Standing once more, Kristin felt the grit of the sand caressing her feet from the pressure of movement. The salty breeze coming in from the ocean chilled her body somewhat pleasantly, though her body was still wet from the seawater. She was content to stay here all night, but she knew that there were other things that needed to be tended to. Like her stomach, for instance. A reverberating, guttural growl shook her innards; the brunette blushed profusely in embarrassment, though it was doubtful either of her peers could see it. Hopefully neitherMadison or Ethan had heard her stomach either. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head that might ease both the two in front of her's discombobulation and the violent stirrings inside of her stomach.

"You guys want to get something to eat with me? I'm totally starving!"